Analysing the sound of the mystery transistor An update on our previous post on the mysterious 2SC828 R-NZ “noise selected” transistor that was used as the noise source for the Roland TR-808 drum machine. The observations and conclusions here are...

The story of the special transistor at the heart of the world’s most iconic drum machine Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, the golden age of synthesizer design, a few manufacturers stood out for their consistently high quality builds and their circuit...

One of the signature sounds of 80’s electronic pop music came from synths that you hit with a stick – Drum pads. Drum machines. They revolutionised pop music back in the ’80’s. The sound of the drum machines made by Roland, Linn, E-mu and...